Art Blogging Contest

Thursday, May 08, 2008

WIDMUNG! the end!

Widmung by Robert Schumann was written in 1840 as a part of his song cycle Myrthen. The title translates to "dedication" with text written by Friedrich Rückert. The song is clearly in an A B A' form which means that it is probably rounded binary but with a closer look at the B section we see or hear that the B section is in a completely different key and very very different than the A section which probably means that it is Ternary form. It is probably simple ternary form because the there are not binary forms within the larger ABA form. When the A section returns it is more of an A' because the cadence ends differently. The poem itself is very romantic. It talks about the composer or poet's love, and the fact that they are their world. It makes the title interesting because it could be that Schumann was dedicating this song or the song cycle to his wife or it could be that he is simply discussing how he dedicates himself to his wife. When the key change happens the text takes a turn to a more peaceful idea that is represented by longer notes and a steadier accompaniment, with the words, you are rest, you are peace. The modulation is a direct modulation, it is very abrupt with a sudden change of piano style. The Gb5 that is found in measures 8 and 9 was probably used to portray the idea of heaven which is the text that accompanies this section. The composer probably chose a chromatic note because heaven is not a stable idea, no one really knows what it is, and not everyone believes in it. When I sang this piece for proficiencies I really tried to think about the contrasting sections and why the composer would have chosen to make similar text so different.